That Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing have achieved so much success over the past two years is a great credit to Honda mechanics, but it doesn’t mean they didn’t have problems improving the efficiency of their power plants.
Formula 1 switched to 10% ethanol for the 2022 season and this was the cause of the difficulties Honda and Red Bull faced at the start of last season. For example, everyone remembers that at the Bahrain Grand Prix, neither Sergio Perez nor Max Verstappen crossed the finish line, and in both cases it was due to the failure of the fuel system components.
Tetsushi Kakuda, Honda’s F1 chief engineer and program manager, acknowledged there were significant reliability issues with the switch to the new fuel last year.
“We’ve done everything we can to compensate for the power loss associated with E10 fuel,” he said. “As a result, internal engine loads have increased significantly compared to previous years, and this has seriously affected reliability, causing a number of issues that manifested themselves during the 2022 season.
Working on improving reliability does not lead to an increase in power plant capacity. In addition, the regulations only allow certain types of work, but if it is possible to increase reliability, it opens up broader opportunities in a strategic perspective, including in the field of power plant operation. So we will continue to work with the team to come up with the best approach to the engine application strategy.
Not only must we make improvements in areas where problems have been identified, but we must also be prepared to take a broader approach by accurately determining the resource constraints of each component and maximizing its potential.
Improving the reliability of our power plants has allowed us to better understand their characteristics, allowing us to optimize control over energy consumption. We have achieved more efficient use of electrical technology and last year we had a noticeable advantage in this area, especially in the operation of the MGU-K engine generator.
The Honda Racing Center in Sakura is working hard at the start of the new season and we believe we are fully prepared for pre-season testing starting this week.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
